Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1887-11-19
WHERE SHIPS UNLOAD.
A GREAT RESERVOIR FULL OF THE
WORLDS WEALTH.

A Peep Tato the Mile of Ware houses
That Lire the Water Front OF Brook
Iyn--How the Modern Caves of Aladdin
Are Filled.
The most prominent object that attracts
the attention of the passenger on the Fulton
Wall or South ferry is the long limo of ware
houses that stretches along the eater front Of
Brooklyn Back Of these warehouses rises
the bluff upon which the leaders Of Brooklyn
society have built their residences, and to
which they have given the name Of Brooklyn
Heights. In the mansions luxury rcigns In
the storehouscs commerce masses al that it
can command % iin the lap Of luxury The
piers extend out to the channel several hun
dred feet in front of the storehouses. These
arc all 81 brick, and vary from 800 to 800
feet in depth. They stretch in a practically
continuous line, broken only y 5he ferry
slips, for five miles beginning t,itl the En-
pire stores, above the great bridge, and ex-
tending beyond the Erie basin.
The buildings are moi absolutely Hroproof,
but their walls are so thick that q fire cannot
spread from one TO the other The ceilings
are lev AMI tie ground floors are dark Iron
shutters are q e rule. There are 1900 feet Of
them elaoectaor. There is an appearance Of
great 5oiidlty about the buildings They were
evidently built TO withstand the assaults Of
time, and TO hold secure what is given them
TO keep. Net particle of ornanentation is
to be disccrncd nom one end of the long line
to the other, The object for which these
buildings were erected is not display, but Sc
curity. Here are tho riches Of the metropo-
lis awaiting its order.
WHEN THE SHIPS CO9tE HOME
When the ships of the merchants come in
from fc~eign shores they unload their freight
upon the piers, and il is rolled back into the
deep recesaes Of the cavernous depths of these
immense warehouses. If the merchant wants
money ne takes his warehouse receipts to his
bank and puts them up as collateral. If he
wishes to deliver or ship the goods his re-
ceIpt commands their production on demand,
and they come forth, as the water spouts
from the pipe when the faucet is turned, or
the light answers to .he touch Of an electric
button
Great archways let in the stout Pcrcherons
with huge drays, which cart away hogsheads
and crates, Tags and bundles, bales and boxes.
III an almost endless procession. As these
carry away goods, gangs of longshoremen
roll on the Piers other goods that have been
hauled up out Of the holds of sailing vessels
and steamships, From the tops of the slender
masts float the flags of nearly all nations
least of all in number being the Stars and
Stripes The red flag, with cross of ST
George, is most numerous. The tri-color is
prominent, as is also the red white and black
of Germany Others are the black. yellou
AMI red Of Belgium; the red, with white cross.
of Denmark; the yellow, with red stripes. of
Spain; the blue stripes, with yellow cross
and cross in corner, of Sweden: the white.
blue and red stripes of Russia; the yellow,
red and blue stripes, with seven white stars
or the blue, Of Venezuela; the red, with vel
low cross, of Switzerland; and, most rare of
all, the white end blue stripes, with white
and blue cross, Of Greece. The private flags
Of the owners display strange devices, some
having tigers, lions, crosses, letters and the
like
The piers present busy scene An army
of custom house inspectors and weighers in
their white caps calmly survey the scene of
which they are indisputably the monarchs.
A glance at the labels on their caps enables
one to easily distinguish them from the la
borers. The latter are stalwart with brawny
arms, broad chests, bronzed faces, and sturdy
limbs. As they trundle the boxes, bales and
bag down the piers they dump them in little
spaces chalked out for different owucrs.
Pools of molasses and a carpet Of sugar grains
waste enough sweetness on the air to tone up
the fapjacks and coffee of the whole Sixth
ward
FROM STRANGE CLIMES
The weighers assistants knock Off the
boxes from great chunks of what looks like
sawed off elephants legs. 1t is crude rubber
that has just arrived from South America,
1
resentatives Of the same kin from Australia,
Central America and Africa. The finest
comes from Para, in 440-pound boxes When
cut into il looks like canned meat
AS bags of coffee by the hundred are rolled
down the piers from the ships, other bags OF
Imngent aroma slide down with a loud swisl.
from the upper stories of the warehouses,
through a long, steeply inclined chute OF cam
vas This is SO strong and coarse, and the de-
scent is so sharp, that iaborer who essays an
easy passage finds himself in need of a l.cw
seat to his trousers at the bottom.
The deep keel ships from Calcutta and Ma
Mia bring huge quantities of jute butts, bam-
boo hemp and cutchlike tar, used in brew
cries. The Mediterranean line brings fruits
and skins the Jamaica ships bananas, tho
Rio de Janeiro vessels coffee and rubber, CO.
Goa and hides Odors float about Of tama-
rlnds, cinnamon from the East Indies, cloves,
allspica, vanilla beans, bananas, oranges,
lemons, Goldfish, guano, figs raisins, r.&ee,
tea, sugar and Chocolate. Here j, et.1 cal
in ceroons made of skins, also indigo. Io.s-
heads Of molasses spread over acres, AID
sugar in mats, boxes and hogsheads fills ware
house after warehouse.
Men besrnoared with tar stir up with hugo
paddles great caidrons Of boiling pitch A
team Of horses joys lightly along with a load
piled to a great height 1t is cork with to
bark ON and looks like saw logs AuutAer
truck follow, with bales of codfah, and am
other with ltics heavily coated with Eme.
over n great pile of rock salt the bowsIrit of
"a ship, rising and falling with the billowy
tide, swings its Tapping sail to and FRO like
the trunk Of an elephant. In the warehouse
..r1ra-1.iL- q LI-a- l.- Lunnrc--l.. OWN a -Lnat